Mitt Romney: 'Nothing hidden' in taxes

Mitt Romney insists there is "nothing hidden" in his taxes, rebuffing increasing calls from President Obama and other Democrats to release more information about his income and bank accounts.

In an interview with O. Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa, Romney said his finances are above-board and his assets are held in a blind trust managed by a trustee.

"I don't manage them. I don't even know where they are," Romney said in the radio interview taped yesterday. "That trustee follows all U.S. laws. All the taxes are paid, as appropriate. All of them have been reported to the government. There's nothing hidden there."

Democrats have seized on reports by Vanity Fair and the Associated Press about Romney's offshore accounts. Obama himself weighed in Monday, saying it's important for presidential candidates to be an "open book" and citing multiple years of tax disclosures by Romney's father, George, when he ran for the White House.

Mitt Romney, whose wealth came from his years working for private equity firm Bain Capital, has released a tax estimate for 2011 and his 2010 returns. He suggested to Radio Iowa that Obama is trying to change the subject.

"I understand the president's going to try to do anything he can to divert attention from the fact that his jobs record is weak and he has no plan to make things better," Romney said in the interview.

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour said last night in a CNN interview that if he were in Romney's position, he would release more than two years of tax information.

The ex-Mississippi governor, however, questioned whether Romney's taxes are an important issue in the 2012 election.

"But should it be an issue in the campaign? I don't think it amounts to diddly," Barbour said on CNN's Situation Room.

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About Catalina Camia

Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.